Job Details

Senior Agriculture Economist

 Description

Working at the World Bank Group (WBG) provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The WBG is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.

The vision and mission of the WBG is to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet. Delivery of this vision relies on a three-pronged strategy that includes maximizing development impact by engaging country clients in identifying and tackling the most difficult development challenges; promoting scaled-up partnerships that are strategically aligned with the goals; and crowding in public and private resources, expertise and ideas. The architecture underpinning the strategy is the establishment of 14 Global Practices or GPs (organized into four Practice Groups) and five cross-cutting Solution Areas that, in concert with WBG Regions, design and deliver solutions that address clients’ most pressing developmental challenges, and ultimately, enable the World Bank Group to accomplish its mission to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet. 

The Agriculture and Food Global Practice (AGF GP) of the WBG, supports a Global Vision for Agriculture and Food with agriculture able to feed every person, every day, in every country with a safe, nutritious, and affordable diet, and where jobs and income gains in the food system are sufficient to meet poverty reduction targets.

The Agriculture and Food team in the Africa West and Central (AFW) Region (SAWA4) is organized under the umbrella of AFW Sustainable Development that currently also incorporates water, environment, social, urban, disaster resilience and land teams. SAWA4’s work program covers Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, and Guinea and is led by a Practice Manager.  The focus of the team’s work going forward is on food security as well as the future of agri-food systems, including green and resilient transitions, inclusiveness, diversification of economies, jobs, agricultural value-chains development, and competitiveness, one health, leveraging the private sector, climate-smart agriculture, digital agriculture, financial innovation, fragility and conflict, and regional and cross-GP collaboration.

The selected candidate will report to our SAWA4 Practice Manager, based in Washington, DC under the day-to-day oversight and guidance of the Country Management Leadership. S/he will coordinate closely with Sustainable Development Program Leader (PL) for AFCF2, the AGF senior staff based in Conakry.

Job duties and responsibilities 

Internal and External

The primary responsibility of the Senior Agriculture Economist/Specialist will be to provide technical and strategic support to the development and implementation of SAWA4's work program in Guinea and other countries of the Country Management Units, including possibly Benin, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire.

In particular, the Senior Agriculture Economist/Specialist will:

• Serve as a team member and as required lead activities as Task Team Leader, both in agriculture and multi-sectoral operations, assuring quality in all stages of the project cycle;
• Serve as an advisor to colleagues who are themselves Task Team Leaders of demanding operations, providing them with advice and support.
• Work with the relevant Program Leader and staff of the Agriculture and Food Global Practice to identify opportunities for addressing agricultural and food system issues in Guinea as part of the World Bank's Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR), Country Partnership Framework (CPF), country policy dialogue, sector investment operations, budget support operations, and other multi-sectoral projects;
• Promote a strategic approach to support food system transformation and effectively communicate that to the country team.
• Identify innovative opportunities or ways to address food insecurity in general and improve food crisis preparedness in Guinea, including bringing in experience from within the country and from other countries within Africa or elsewhere.
• Remain current with relevant major pieces of analytical work in the profession. Lead or participate in analytical activities in Guinea or on a sub-regional level, and work with teams engaged in analytical work relevant to SAWA4's work program in Guinea;
• Represent the World Bank in fora involving the community of development partners. Provide support, either explicit or implicit, to the work of the development partners in the sector;
• As necessary, represent the World Bank and AGF management at events with sectoral focus that take place in Guinea and in the region.
• Develop strong client relations and partnership, including with the International Finance       Corporation, on operational matters and policy dialogue.
• Work with other Global Practices in representing Guinea specific issues in regional and corporate strategies.
• Initiate and maintain a high level and quality of engagement and dialogue with key stakeholders, including government, civil society, private sector and research/academic community on strategic and policy issues concerning agriculture and food security in Guinea.

Selection Criteria

• Masters, MBA or PhD in Agricultural and Foods Sciences, Agricultural Economics, or in a relevant  discipline.
• At least eight years of experience on agricultural development and food systems related issues.
• Strong technical and analytical skills in the range of issue of relevance to agriculture and food systems.
• Recognized substantive leadership in one or more of the strategic/ technical areas noted above.
• Familiarity with the institutional context of Guinea and African agricultural development.
• Demonstrate considerable experience of undertaking field-based activities and missions.
• Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving and team skills with ability to find balanced, pragmatic, and implementable solutions also in a multi-disciplinary context.
• High level of energy, ability to work under pressure, and willingness to travel extensively and work under challenging conditions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and French, including the ability to present complex issues to World Bank management and senior Government representatives, as well as to non-specialist audiences.

Competencies:

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translates technical and cross-country knowledge  into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Integrative Skills - Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas and how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Expertise in agricultural economics or other agriculture technical skills - Deep understanding of concepts  used in agriculture and food systems, with significant experience.
• Agriculture Policy, Strategy and Institutions - Solid understanding of agriculture policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations in general, and a good sense of the political economy surrounding agriculture and food systems related issues.
• Project Design for Impact and Sustainability - Contributes to the design of projects and programs based on an understanding of the country and sector context.
• Sector Dialogue - Able to conduct a dialogue with the client on familiar topics, with a narrow scope, based on a solid understanding of the sector.
• Client Orientation - Maintains client relationships in the face of conflicting demands or  directions and provides evidence-based advice and solutions based on sound diagnosis and knowledge.
• Drive for Results - Identifies the needed resources to accomplish results involving multiple stakeholders and finds solutions to obstacles affecting key deliverables.
• Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Shows leadership in ensuring the team stays organized and focused, and actively seeks and considers diverse ideas and approaches.
• Knowledge, Learning, and Communication - Leads in the sharing of best practice, trends, knowledge and lessons learned across units and with clients and partners, articulating ideas verbally and in writing in a clear and compelling way across audiences of varied levels.
• Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Gathers inputs, assesses risk, considers impact and articulates benefits of decisions for internal and external stakeholders over the long term.

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. If the selected candidate is a current World Bank Group Staff Member with a Term appointment that expires later than the end date of this appointment, s/he will retain the duration of his/her current Term appointment.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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